


Through the Fire

by matan4il



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, M/M, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26915452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matan4il/pseuds/matan4il
Summary: Prompt fill from the sensory prompts list for the prompt:Gritty eyes when you stare into fire too long.Originally posted onmy Tumblr.“Soldier?…” Someone stops by his side. It’s the voice of the medic from earlier. The one who bandaged him. In all the mayhem of the battles that he’s been fighting in for months, there was only one moment of peace and that was when the guy, Eddie as he introduced himself, had his hands on Buck.(it's currently in my WIPs to become an entire multi chaptered fic)
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 78





	Through the Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [doctornineandthreequarters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctornineandthreequarters/gifts).



> Huge thank you to the lovely [Lana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DLanaDHZ/pseuds/DLanaDHZ) for the beta!

Buck is tired and his hair is messy. He can feel the smeared mud that has dried on his face, the cold at his back and the bonfire’s heat in front of him, almost scorching him. He should turn around, let the fire balance the different temperatures in his body, deny it the scar that it might leave on his skin or his soul if he continues staring into it for much longer, but he can’t. This day of fighting was long and all it will be followed by is another one.

The edge of his helmet is held between his fingers and he keeps rubbing his thumb over it. Maybe he’ll push into it. Maybe it will cut and make him bleed the tears that the fire has dried. It won’t help or change a thing, but something wound tight inside him might be a bit relieved.

“Soldier?…” Someone stops by his side. It’s the voice of the medic from earlier. The one who bandaged him. In all the mayhem of the battles that he’s been fighting in for months, there was only one moment of peace and that was when the guy, Eddie as he introduced himself, had his hands on Buck.

“I’m alright,” he replies, but he’s been staring at the fire they’ve had going to warm the camp up a little for so long, he can’t avert his eyes away from it anymore. They itch with dryness, as if he hadn’t blinked this whole time.

“Okay, Buckley. Then you won’t mind me sitting down beside you?”

He shakes his head to indicate that he indeed doesn’t mind. Of course he doesn’t, a part of him wants that. The medic’s eyes were kind and there was a low burning flame in them, which reached right into Buck, an inexplicable kind of burn, a healing warmth. That’s what Eddie was, a natural healer, offering the softest of touches and the kindest of care. They only talked about the wound, but the way this man spoke and conducted his treatment was more revealing than some conversations that stretch over years. Buck should be scared of him. They could jail a man for the feelings Eddie’s stirring in him. And it doesn’t matter that they’re out here, in a foreign continent, fighting an enemy that does even worse to those found guilty of this crime. Men are for killing, not for kissing, that’s the one thing that the two sides both believe in.

“How long have you been sitting here, staring?” Eddie asks. The noises coming from his direction tell Buck that he has taken off his rifle and helmet and placed them on the ground next to him as he sat down. “You shouldn’t stare at the fire for too long. They say that can make you go crazy. At least blink.” It’s said kindly, the end jokingly, with a real concern behind it that touches the hollows which fighting has left in Buck.

“There are worse fates than that,” he replies matter of factly. It’s almost ungrateful to respond to kindness like that, but it’s all he has right now and at least it’s honest.

Eddie doesn’t answer that with anything and Buck can practically hear him thinking.

“You know,” Eddie finally breaks the silence. “I saw you that first day, on the ship. Right before we landed on the beach? You were laughing with the guys in your platoon and,” his voice drops and becomes hauntingly quiet, “I thought that you were gorgeous. And that I’d like to meet you.”

Buck’s gaze drops. With everything he had seen in the months since the beach landing, this might be the bravest act he’d encountered. He knows exactly what a risk this is. How much courage it requires.

Then, there’s a hand on his cheek. It’s only there for a couple of seconds, but it makes a world of a difference. It should have been too hot, flesh against heated flesh, what with this prolonged and extreme closeness to the fire. But the cold night air had run along Eddie’s fingers long enough to drop their temperature. They had a thankfully cooling effect.

And Buck? He turns his head away from the fire, to look at the beautiful man who stopped by, who sat down next to him and who’s extending a healing touch for the second time that day. A reminder that simple humaneness does exist, alongside the horrors. That there is hope and the possibility of a better future. 

And in what feels like the first time in maybe hours, maybe days or even months, Buck blinks.


End file.
